


Talk Too Much

by Tommykaine



Series: Hang the DJ [9]
Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Barnaby is possibly an even bigger one, Challenge Response, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Kotetsu is an idiot, M/M, Oblivious Kaburagi T. Kotetsu, Wholesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:55:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29010888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tommykaine/pseuds/Tommykaine
Summary: Kotetsu is too dumb to know when to shut up, and too dumb to get a clue.Anyway he is NOT going to blurt out his feelings, okay?!Inspired by the song "Talk Too Much" by Coin
Relationships: Barnaby "Bunny" Brooks Jr./Kaburagi T. Kotetsu
Series: Hang the DJ [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1014486
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	Talk Too Much

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hermes_Zeppeli](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hermes_Zeppeli/gifts).



> This was written for the Maritombola Challenge 11, using the prompt "Talk Too Much - Coin"
> 
> This was also written as a birthday gift for my partner!

“Damn it… why was there such a line on a Wednesday?”

Kotetsu was rushing through the streets – as much as he could, at least, while holding two cups of coffee and a paper bag and trying not to drop any of them on the way.

“I hope Bunny’s not mad…”

He was panting by the time he reached the park. Thankfully it was not hard to locate Barnaby, as he was surrounded by a small group of fans and taking photos with them. He was flashing his most charming smile and chatting amiably with the girl who was holding the camera.

 _At least he found a way to pass the time, huh_ , Kotetsu thought, unsure of whether to feel relieved or not. It was not uncommon for Barnaby to be recognized everywhere he went, which was a part of why they usually would hang out at his or Barnaby’s place, but Kotetsu had thought it would be nice to get out for a change.

 _Better not get too close_. Somehow he didn’t seem to ever be recognized, even if his appearance wasn’t exactly discreet, but wouldn’t it be a little too curious if he was seen hanging around with Barnaby?

Then again, he probably should have thought about it before proposing to meet there…

Once the fans were gone, Kotetsu finally approached him. Barnaby’s expression immediately changed.

“You’re late, old man.”

_…he is mad._

“Sorry, Bunny, the coffee shop was packed,” Kotetsu tried to justify himself, handing one of the cups to his partner.

The other hero sighed, taking the cup and checking on his clock.

“We still have forty-five minutes,” he told him. “Let’s not waste any more time.”

They walked inside the park, sipping on the coffee in silence for a few minutes.

“Must be nice to be this popular,” Kotetsu said to break the ice, a wide grin on his face.

Barnaby shrugged.

“I’m used to it,” he said, “Even before I was a hero, my family was quite well-known. It was not rare for my parents to get recognized and stopped while we were outside somewhere. Though now I pretty much can’t go anywhere without being recognized.”

“Huh… maybe you should wear a disguise,” Kotetsu suggested, and finally Barnaby chuckled.

“What, like your pointless face mask?”

“Huh?! What’s wrong with my mask? It works!”

“Doesn’t that say more about your fans, really? I’m surprised you managed to keep your identity a secret for this long… you don’t see a Japanese man with such a ridiculous beard every day.”

“It’s a cool beard! It totally suits me!”

“Whatever you say, old man.”

“Don’t ‘old man’ me, if anything you should call me _senpai._ ”

“Try and beat my record for once and we’ll talk.”

Kotetsu was glad to see that Barnaby hadn’t stayed mad at him for long. They continued to chat like that, making small talk and poking fun at each other.

There was a small pond in the park, with ducks swimming or walking around it, and Kotetsu lead Barnaby to it before taking out the bread roll from the paper bag, ripping it into pieces.

“Come on, Bunny, look!” Kotetsu told him, tossing one of the pieces on the ground and attracting a couple ducks.

“You’re not supposed to feed them. I’m pretty sure it’s against the park’s rules,” Barnaby replied, not looking the slightest bit enthusiastic about his plan.

“Eh, it’ll be fine, it’s just a little bit,” Kotetsu replied with a dismissive wave of hand, ripping another piece and tossing it towards the birds, letting out an excited “ooh!” when one of them caught it before it fell. “Look, more are coming!” He crouched down and started to toss them a bit closer. “You guys are so eager!”

“You’re gonna get attacked,” Barnaby warned him.

“Naah… these guys are friendly, aren’t you?” Kotetsu ripped up more pieces of bread, attracting more and more ducks to him. “Look, now I’m popular too!”

Barnaby just sighed, shaking his head. As usual, he was being so stuck-up.

_Oh well, I’ll just feed them by myself._

Kotatsu wondered if he should bring Kaede to that park next time she came to visit. It was a pretty peaceful place, he and Tomoe used to go there quite often and back then they’d feed the ducks too. Though there weren’t quite as many as now…

“I’m sorry guys, I’m all out of bread now!” Kotetsu announced once the very last piece had been taken right from his hand by an overeager duck, getting up and brushing the crumbs away from his pants. “Well I’ll be- _hey!_ ”

One of the ducks decided to bite his ankle, maybe to eat one of the crumbs, and soon enough they all started crowding on him.

“Hey hey hey wait- _AAH!_ ”

Kotetsu ran away from the hungry mob of ducks, while Barnaby started to laugh at him.

“Stop laughing at me! Help me! _Ow!_ You bastards… you’re not cute at all!”

But, instead of helping him, Barnaby just laughed even louder as he watched the scene, especially when Kotetsu had to take refuge by climbing on a tree, with the ducks surrounding it and quacking loudly at him. He was laughing so loud he was doubling over, his hands on his knees and his eyes filling with tears.

“You stupid birds, go awa-”

_CRACK!_

The branch he was holding on to suddenly broke from his weight and he fell down, yelling...

“Hyaa!”

… and landing straight in the arms of Barnaby.

“This is becoming a habit, isn’t it?” the younger man teased him. “At least you’re not as heavy without your suit.”

“Shut up,” Kotetsu muttered, embarrassed. He couldn’t help but notice how close he was to Barnaby, his head pressed against his chest, their faces just a few inches from each other. He could even feel the warmth of his breath. It smelled like coffee…

“You can get down now, they’re gone.”

“Huh?” Kotetsu glanced down. Since the birds seemed to finally have decided he wasn’t worth their time, they had dispersed. “Oh… right.”

He awkwardly let go of Barnaby and looked away, shifting his hat to hide how red his face had turned.

_Damn… that was… a little too close._

His heart was racing, wondering if he had been found out.

“Barnaby, you…”

“Hm?”

**_< better to leave it unsaid >_ **

“Ah, nothing. I was just thinking, it’s nice hanging out like this sometimes, right?”

Barnaby smiled, and Kotetsu felt a pang in his chest.

“I was thinking the same. Sometimes you do have good ideas.”

“Tsk. All of my ideas are good ones, of course!” Kotetsu replied, straightening up and touching his own chin as he struck a cool pose, letting out an overly confident laugh.

“Whose idea was that to feed the ducks, again?”

“…I, uh, ehm…” Kotetsu scratched his head, turning away. “Ah… look, a patch of clovers. Let’s see who can find a four-leaf-clover first!”

“What’s the use in that? Where would you even put it?”

Kotetsu ignored him, crouching down and busying himself with his new task. At least if he wasn’t looking at him, maybe his heart would calm down.

“Did you know that four-leaf-clovers are a mutation?” he asked him, brushing his hand through the small plants to try and reveal an odd-leaved one hidden within them. “They’re actually less rare than people think they are.”

“So?”

“So, don’t you think they’re kinda like NEXT?” Kotetsu asked. “Ah, I found one!” Picking it up, he turned around and handed it to Barnaby. “There you go!”

“I-” Barnaby’s face flushed slightly. He turned away and adjusted his glasses. “I don’t need it…”

“Come on, for good luck!”

“Those are just senseless superstitions,” Barnaby complained, brushing him away. “Such a childish gift… I’m not Kaede.”

“Next time, then, I’ll give you a rose!”

He regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth. He had meant it as a joke… or he thought he did, but the way it came out and the way Barnaby’s eyes grew wide…

**_< why can't I leave it unsaid? >_ **

“A-ah, I just mean… since you want an adult gift so much… ahahah!” Kotetsu quickly tried to lighten up the mood, letting out a nervous laugh and waving his hands. “It was a joke! A joke! Ahah… you should have seen your face!”

“You…” Barnaby facepalmed and shook his head, letting out a loud sigh. “Always blurting whatever comes to your mind… no wonder everyone thinks you’re an idiot.”

“Ahaha…aha… that’s right…” Kotetsu scratched the back of his head and looked away, letting out a silent sigh of relief.

_Why do I always say too much?_

~~~

  
Movies made it look so easy.

Just wait for the right moment and kiss, maybe after saying a cool and dramatic line.

Kotetsu laid down on his couch, a hand on his chest, holding a half-finished glass of scotch as he stared up at the ceiling, thinking back to the other day.

_Damn, he looked so shocked. I shouldn’t have said something so weird._

At times like that, he almost regretted not giving in to his instincts back then, when Barnaby had been holding him in his arms and crying as he rambled on, trying to act cool in what they both thought to be his final moments.

_I should have just kissed him._

He would have forgiven him, wouldn’t he? Even if he didn’t feel the same… probably they could have just blamed it on the heat of the moment, on… on some kind of desperate goodbye. Or maybe they just would never have addressed it.

But he knew why he hadn’t done it.

_It would have been dishonest._

Forcing his feelings on Barnaby like that, it wouldn’t have been fair.

_More than anything, I don’t want to be pitied._

Wasn’t that why he hadn’t told him about his powers declining, either? Not wanting him to look down on him, not wanting him to worry about unnecessary things.

Sooner or later, he was sure that Barnaby would find someone. Why wouldn’t he? He was young, wealthy and handsome. He was going to have a long list of suitors to choose from, so what were the chances he would be interested in someone like him?

_Being courted by an old man such as myself, it would just be embarrassing._

It wasn’t like he even had the chance to date normally, as far as Kotetsu could tell. He’d been fully consumed by his revenge, and then by the shock of the discovery of Maverick’s manipulation. It would probably still be a while before he could take the time to seriously think about his love life. If anything, he should first have the chance to get out there and experiment, maybe fool around a little.

_Though he doesn’t seem like the frivolous type. I’m sure that, once he likes someone, he would be the type to go all out, like a teenage kid with his first crush._

Even if, by some absurd chance, Kotetsu did confess his feelings to him and Barnaby were to be swayed by them, would that really be fair? Wouldn’t he just end up feeling torn on whether he cared for him as a partner or as a… _partner_ partner? The last thing he needed was _more_ confusion.

_These one-sided feelings, it’s better to keep them to myself._

~~~

  
“You are sure you don’t want my help?” Kotetsu insisted, lifting his head from the magazine he was reading.

“Are you saying you don’t trust my taste?” Barnaby replied, not even lifting his gaze from the vegetables he was chopping. He had such an intense expression on his face, as if he was solving an equation rather than preparing a fairly simple meal. “I’m not the one who can only cook _one_ meal here.”

“That just means I’ve completely mastered it through the years,” Kotetsu replied, striking one of his totally confident poses. “I’m the ultimate master of fried rice.”

“You wanted to use _frozen_ shrimp.”

“Fried rice is a humble recipe. It’s supposed to be a way to save leftovers. You don’t need fancy fresh ingredients or super secret techniques, it’s all about the passion, that original homemade feel…”

“Ah!”

Kotetsu immediately jumped up and ran up to Barnaby, who was squeezing one of his fingers.

“Waah, you’re bleeding, you’re bleeding!”

“It’s just a small cut, there’s no ne-”

Barnaby gasped and stared at Kotetsu in shock as the older man grasped on his hand and sucked on his finger. He did not say anything for several moments, his face slowly turning bright red, then he forcefully pulled his hand back.

“T-that’s unsanitary,” he blurted out, before rushing to the sink to wash his hand.

Kotetsu just stayed there, dumbfounded. He’d acted without thinking, he’d done the same with Kaede every time she got a papercut or hurt herself with a thorn from the garden back at home, but of course Barnaby was a grown man… it was normal he would be weirded out by having another man ‘kissing it better’.

“Uhm, you’ve got plasters?”

“In the bathroom, there’s a first aid kit.”

“Ah, gotcha!”

Kotetsu hurried to go pick them up, though he couldn’t help but smirk when he saw that they were Wild Tiger themed plasters and that they had his logo on them.

“What’s with these?” he asked once he came back, taking out one and approaching Barnaby with a large grin on his face.

“The company gave them to me,” Barnaby replied, shrugging. “Free handouts are convenient, so I saw no reason to refuse.”

“Is that so?”

Kotetsu waited for Barnaby to wipe his finger dry before carefully wrapping the band-aid around it, covering up the cut.

“You’re sure you don’t want my help?”

“I was doing fine, you just distracted me because you kept talking.”

“But I feel awkward, sitting there and not doing anything…”

“Fine then, help me cut the vegetables!”

“ _Yessir_!”

It didn’t take them long to have everything ready and start cooking, though Barnaby complained because he kept butting in and not letting him do as he’d meant.

“Didn’t you ask me to come over to help you cook my fried rice?”

“No, I asked you to come over to try _my_ fried rice,” Barnaby corrected him, carefully pouring a spoonful of sake in the pan. “Besides, we’ve both been so busy, it’s been hard to meet lately.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Kotetsu admitted, wiping his hands on his apron. He stared at Barnaby as he cooked. He’d tied up his hair in a small bun, leaving more of his face exposed than usual. Kotetsu let his gaze wander from the back of his neck to his jawline and cheeks, his limpid green eyes, so focused that there was a slight wrinkle between his eyebrows. His slightly plumper lower lip, which occasionally frowned in a small pout, making it look even softer…

Kotetsu didn’t think before opening his mouth, the words spilling out by themselves.

**_< I never leave it unsaid >_ **

“Must be hard to get a date, huh?”

Barnaby’s spoon clattered on the floor. They both reached down to pick it up, with the result that their heads bumped together with enough force to make them both cry out in pain.

“Ow! You damn-”

“Sorry! Sorry!”

Kotetsu massaged his head and let Barnaby pick up the spoon, watching as he tossed it in the sink with too much force than necessary.

_Ouch. Must be a sore topic._

Letting out a small laugh, Kotetsu raised his arms and shrugged.

“Ah, well, I guess we could always call this a date!”

_…shit._

It had sounded much less awkward in his head.

And now Barnaby was _glaring_ at him.

**_< why can't I leave it unsaid? >_ **

“Don’t make such tasteless jokes.”

“Sorry…”

Kotatsu scratched the back of his head and sighed, sulking and walking away to let Barnaby finish cooking without further incidents.

Even if he knew he’d been the one to be insensitive, he couldn’t help but feel hurt at how offended Barnaby had seemed. Was the idea of dating him so distressing that he couldn’t even stand joking about it?

_I really never know when to shut up, huh._

~~~

  
Kotetsu was still panting hard, the effort from his last capture having strained him more than usual.

“You should have let me handle it! You knew your power was running out…” Barnaby was scolding him, a stern expression on his face. Even like that, he still looked so beautiful. Kotetsu couldn’t help but smile at him as he crawled out of his Hero Suit.

“What kind of teammate would I be, if I didn’t even tr- _ow!_ ” His ankle gave out as soon as he tried to put his weight on it, a sudden pain flaring up along his leg. He would have collapsed on the floor, had Barnaby not rushed forward to hold him up.

“Are you alri-”

Kotetsu looked up and their noses touched, prompting Barnaby to shut up and gasp. He’d expected him to drop him and insult him, to chastise him even more for pushing himself and injuring himself, to get angry and worried and to pull away from that awkward distance between them.

_Why isn’t he pulling away?_

**_< silence is golden, and you’ve got my hopes up >_ **

Neither of them could say anything or _do_ anything, it seemed.

Kotetsu’s heart raced fast.

_This is dangerous._

He opened his mouth slightly, wanting to say something, _anything_ , because he knew if he didn’t, if he let that moment linger for too long, he might end up doing something… regrettable.

_Is it my impression or is Bunny… moving closer?_

**_< no hesitation, what are we waiting for? >_ **

Barnaby’s nose brushed past his, their breaths mingling, and Kotetsu unconsciously tightened his grasp on the other’s shoulders, feeling his whole body tremble.

“You…” he whispered, trying and failing to muster up a small laugh as he blurted the first thing that went through that useless brain of his. “Y-you really have long eyelashes…”

Barnaby huffed in response.

“You talk too much,” he hissed and, before Kotetsu even had the time to process what was happening, their lips were smashed together into a deep kiss.

…

……

_………EEEEEH!?_

\---

_[You know I talk too much_

_Honey, come put your lips on mine_

_And shut me up_

_We could blame it all on human nature_

_Stay cool, it's just a kiss_

_Oh, why you gotta be so talkative?_

_I talk too much, we talk too much]_

[Talk Too Much – Coin]


End file.
